Moving forward
by twbird18
Summary: Late season 4 into season 5. Parker gets a little help from Eliot. She wants to move forward with Hardison.
1. Chapter 1: Parker talks to Eliot

**I don't own Leverage - I'm just hanging out in their universe for a while**

**A/N: I'm kind of curious how Parker and Hardison end up traveling together between S4&5. Just a little idea I had. Not sure how long this will be yet.**

Eliot and I go back to the apartment while the others finish up our current job. We had finished up our roles and Eliot determined there was no serious risk to the others so he wanted to get dinner started. At first, I sit in the living room looking for something on the TV, but I can't stop thinking about stuff. I've been doing a lot of thinking lately or at least a lot of non-theft thinking.

I quickly give up on watching TV and head into the kitchen to watch Eliot cook. I love watching him cook, creating something tasty out of a bunch of different ingredients. It's fun. I hop up on a bar stool and just watch him chop up vegetables. Eventually, Eliot glances up at me and then continues his chopping. After another minute or so, he puts down the knife, wipes off his hand and really looks at me the way he does sometimes.

"What's the matter, Parker?" he asks.

"Nothing," I say, "I'm just watching you cook. I like watching your cook."

"C'mon Parker, I can tell when somethings bothering you. Just spit it out already. I'm trying to cook and the others will be here soon so if you have something you want to say without them around you need to get to it already" Eliot says gruffly.

"I just...I wasn't planning to…" I stop and start again. "I need you to do something for me Eliot. I know you don't like this kind of thing, but you know how it is for me and I need someone to help. I don't know what to do."

"Parker, you have to actually tell me what it is before I know if I can help you or not." says a slightly annoyed Eliot. "I"m not Hardsion. I can't always figure out what you are talking about."

"This thing with Hardison and I, I need you to talk to Hardison for me" I start to say.

"Parker, seriously, I'm not getting involved in your relationship problems"

"Just listen to me, please Eliot."

"Yeah, ok. Go ahead Parker" Eliot says frowning slightly. He picks up his knife and resumes his chopping.

"I don't know what we're doing. Hardison is waiting on me to do something, but I don't know what it is. I've never done this before. No one seems to get that. I don't know how to do this, whatever this is. I barely remember my parents. I didn't go to high school. I never dated anyone before. I don't know what it is that I'm supposed to be doing and I don't even know for sure it's something I want to be doing because I don't know what it is." I know that I'm rambling on without getting to the point and that Eliot isn't the most patient guy when it comes to this type of thing, but when I went to the kitchen, I wasn't planning on having this conversation. It's just kind of coming out, the things that I've been thinking about. "You're his friend. You need to tell him to stop waiting around. He needs to do something. Man up or whatever you call it. Nothing will ever happen if he keeps waiting on me. He can't just give me the option to keep running away. I uh, I don't….I don't want him to get tired of waiting on me. If he wants to have something closer to normal with me he's going to have to do something" I finish staring at the countertop.

"When I can," Eliot says turning to the stove "I will say something to Hardison, but it's the last time I'm getting involved in your relationship problems. You're supposed to talk to Sophie or Peggy about these things." Eliot sighs. "I get it though Parker. I will let Hardison know he can stop being so patient."

"Oh and Eliot, even I know that you don't take a girl to see robots fight. He needs to do a little better." I hop off the stool and go back to the TV, hearing Eliot chuckle in the background.


	2. Chapter 2: Eliot threatens Hardison

It's a couple weeks, busy with jobs, before Hardison and I end up hanging out together again. It's a Sunday afternoon, we've planned to spend watching football again. Somehow Nate has agreed to go shopping with Sophie instead of watching the games with us and I know that we won't see Parker until later in the evening when she comes looking for something to eat because she doesn't really like football for some reason.

I drink a few beers as we watch the first set of games. Hardison, annoyingly, continues to type away at his keyboard while watching the games and drinking his orange soda. I don't know how he has any idea what is going on, but somehow he always manages to cheer or comment whenever something important happens in the games and we both know that I mostly prefer the silence. It's one of the few times that Hardison isn't jabbering away when we're doing something together. I assume that he doesn't have any focus left to talk to me.

As the second batch of games begins, I realize I better get to it already or someone is going to show up at the office before we finish this discussion.

"Hardison, I just can't believe that you took Parker to see robots fighting" I comment.

"What?! She had a good time. She was totally into it after the first few minutes and she got to eat plenty of junk food." Hardison says looking puzzled. "Why are we talking about this? Parker & I do things together all the time."

"Because, clearly you need help. You're not just hanging out with Parker, you're trying to date her. Everyone knows it except maybe Parker" I state. "Seriously, the only woman Parker has ever spent any real amount of time with is Sophie. Do you think that she would let Parker consider that a date? I can only imagine what Sophie has told her about dating. And, you need to admit it, you wanted to go see the robots fighting and you wanted Parker to go with you - which is cool if you just want to hang out as friends, but Parker deserves better from you on a first date. What the hell are you thinking?" I frown at Hardison for good measure. He needs to do better. If I must have this conversation with him, then he's damn sure going to know he better treat her better.

"I know. She even met me there and left as soon as it was over. I keep thinking that she's ready to try us out, but I don't want to do something that makes her run away" Hardison answers frowning slightly. "I don't even know how to get her to go on an actual date with me. I know I can't just take her to the movies or out for coffee or anything I might normally do on a first or second date. She won't like it or she'll be bored and we'll be finished before we even get started."

"Parker's not going to give you some sign or probably do anything that a regular woman would do. She doesn't know how. She never learned that kind of stuff until she met Sophie. You're going to have to show her what to do and take your time and explain anything she doesn't understand. She never dated anyone before. Hell, she probably never even thought about the idea before we became a team and she's getting all her information about guys from Sophie for the most part. The only relationship she's ever really seen is Sophie and Nate's and I don't think that's what you want her to base your relationship off of so you're going to have to be crystal clear about what it is the 2 of you are doing. Use actual words, Hardison. You're not wrong about her being ready. She just doesn't know what to do."

"How do you know she's ready" Hardison questions, looking confused.

"She told me. Actually, she told me to tell you to man up, already" I answer snickering. "She basically said that you need to make a move already and it needs to be something distinct that she can't confuse with the friendship you guys already have."

"I can't believe she would come to you and not Sophie." Hardison says.

"I knew something was bothering her and made her tell me. Probably she would have gone to Sophie eventually." I reply "One more thing and then we are never talking about your relationship problems again. You better not hurt her. She's never done this before, never even considered doing it before. You better not make her regret it or else you're going to have to deal with me."

Hardison just sighs, but I can see the wheels turning already in the giant brain of his. I'm sure he'll figure it out.


	3. Chapter 3: First Date: Hardison POV

"Parker," I call out waiting for her to turn around and come back over to where I'm standing, just a little away from everyone else, "what are you doing tomorrow?"

"Not much before we all meet up for dinner and movies. I'm glad we finally have a whole weekend off." Parker says grinning at me.

"Good, then you're free to go out with me tomorrow afternoon?" I ask.

"Sure, I guess so. Where are we going?" Parker asks.

"It's a surprise, but I'll pick you up from Sophie's tomorrow at noon. She mentioned earlier that you guys were having a girl's night sleepover tonight." I say smiling and as she turns to walk away tap her on the shoulder so that she looks back at me. "Wear something nice. Sophie will help you. She knows where we're going and Parker just so we're clear, this is a date." I walk off so Parker doesn't have the opportunity to change her mind or ask me questions.

I show up at Sophie's door promptly at noon and knock. The door swings open almost immediately with a nervous looking, but still beautiful Parker looking at me. She's wearing a long, flowing skirt with a dark shirt that she's able to still wear her boots with. I'm glad Sophie found her an outfit she could move in, but that would fit in where we're going.

She turns away almost as soon as she opens the door, "I just have to get my jacket" she says.

I grab her arm as she turns away, causing her to turn back towards me. Surprisingly, she doesn't pull away. "Hi" I say, "you look more beautiful than usual. I got you these." I hand her a white box.

Parker just stands there for a moment looking confused before taking the box and opening it up, revealing the bouquet of wild flowers I had gotten for her. Roses seemed too serious and not really her style, but these were colorful and fragrant and I thought maybe she would like them. After a second, she leans down and sniffs them before looking back up at me, "They smell nice."

I grin at her, "I bet if you give them to Sophie, she can put them in some water for you." I keep talking quickly before she can take off to find Sophie, "I also got you these." I hand her a small brown bag with some new locks inside. "I thought if you wanted to put them in your pockets, you could fiddle with them if you get bored or nervous while we're out."

She looks surprised and takes the bag, pausing for a second before saying "Thanks." and then whirling around to find Sophie. I hear her call out from the next room, "Sophie, Hardison got us flowers. What do we do with them?"

I stand in the entryway for a few minutes before she returns with her jacket already on. "Ready to go?" I ask.

"Yes" Parker responds.

I'm proud of myself because I manage to get to the front door before her, holding it open for her as she walks out. She's still wearing that slightly confused look, but I figure she'll get used to it. Nana would not be happy if I didn't treat her well like I was taught.

As we start walking, I ask, "Did you have fun with Sophie last night?"

"Yeah, but Sophie wouldn't tell me where you are taking me. She made me pick out these clothes before we went to the spa. Apparently, you need to know what you are wearing so that your nail polish can match. " Parker shows me her fingernails, which are a pretty color. "I like going to the spa with Sophie, but I don't really know why she wants me to do these things. My nail polish never lasts more than one day before it gets scratched up and you can't see my toe nails." Parker says frowning slightly.

"You can show me your toes later if you want" I say smiling "And we're going to Cafe Fleuri, for brunch and then I thought we could go over to the aquarium if you're not tired of me by the time we finish eating." I tell her, leaving out the fact that it is a chocolate buffet for now.

"I've never been to the aquarium before" Parker tells me.

"I know. You told me once, though I don't know why you've never taken yourself there now that you could, but I think you'll like it." I say. "And, I figured it was a good way to walk off the food we are about to have."

We arrive at the Langham hotel where the Cafe is and I open the door for Parker to enter. We're seated quickly and I see Parker's eyes light up when she sees the giant chocolate fountain in the buffet area.

"It's a chocolate buffet" I tell Parker. "You can have as much as you want. Just try to remember that we have other things to do today." I follow her to the buffet and watch in amazement as she somehow fits 1 of everything from the first table onto a plate and gets a cup of Mexican hot chocolate. Then, I let her pick out the ingredients for my chocolate crêpe. I'm not surprised when it's filled with 4 different kinds of candy and topped with whipped cream and chocolate sauce.

We walk back to our table and I eat slowly as I watch Parker go to work on her plate. I know I should eat slowly since there is zero chance I could possibly keep up with her and chocolate, but I'm glad that she seems to be over her initial nervousness. I knew the chocolate buffet was a great idea.

I take a forkful of my crêpe and offer it to Parker, telling her "you picked out the ingredients, don't you want to taste it?"

She looks surprised since I'm sure she was planning to just steal a bite when she was ready for it. I'm holding it close enough that she doesn't have to take the fork from me and she just scoops it off the fork licking her lips to get it all.

"Pretty good, don't you think?" I ask her.

"Not as good as this" she says holding out a bite of some chocolate mini pie.

I'm sure she meant for me to take it and feed myself, but I just lean down and take it from her fingers watching as her eyes widen slightly before she returns to finishing her plate. "Yeah," I say watching her "that was better."

I see one hand go to her jacket pocket, where I'm sure she put those locks, but she doesn't actually take one out. Instead, she gets up to get another plate of food. I do not know how she eats all of this without getting sick. I head to the buffet while she's gone and pick a few things that look interesting.

I'm fidgeting with my food so I don't finish before her and making small talk about the job we just wrapped up. She's nearly done with plate number two when she surprises me by offering me a bite of something else she especially likes. And this time she's holding it closer to me with the clear intention that I should eat it from her fingers so I do and she doesn't look away from me. In fact, she actually licks her lips before polishing off the last bite on her plate. All of the sudden, I'm sweating because I know she probably learned that from something Sophie said or did around her and I don't know what to think of it.

Seeing that she's done though, I ask her if she wants to get ice cream sundae's telling her we should probably wrap up our lunch if she wants to have time for the aquarium. She nods and bounces off to the sundae station where she makes an enormous chocolate sundae and I make a tiny one that I'm not sure I can finish.

As soon as we finish our sundae's and I've taken care of the check, Parker is tugging me out of my seat eager to get to the aquarium. I hope that the walk to the aquarium will burn off a little of the high before we get to the crowds of people who are probably there on a Saturday afternoon.

We're about a block away from the hotel when I reach over and snag Parker's hand, threading our fingers together. I notice the little pause in her steps, but she doesn't pull away and continues walking next to me.

"Parker" I say figuring this is a good time to talk. We're about a mile from the Aquarium and I have a hold of her so she probably won't run away from me. "This is what I want, to be able to sometimes hold your hand, hug you or kiss you and have that be okay with you. I want to go out with you and do fun things and sometimes to just stay in and hangout like we've always done. Most importantly, I want you to tell me if you don't like something or if you want me to do something else. I need you to tell me, not Sophie or Eliot.

I want us to have fun together and when you figure it out, I want you to tell me what you want even if it's just something you want to do on a date. I don't want you to take lessons from Sophie and Nate. Their relationship is way too complicated and we don't have to be like that. We just have to talk to each other. If there is something you want to say, but you just can't for whatever reason, you can email me or text me or whatever you feel comfortable doing, ok?" I pause waiting for a response because she hasn't actually said or done anything during my entire speech and I can't see her face so I don't really know what she's thinking.

We a block or so with our hands swinging between us before Parker says anything. I was starting to get worried when she finally speaks, "Ok, I never did any of this stuff before, but it doesn't sound hard. Just...can you just tell me if I'm doing it wrong and not get angry about it?"

"I'm not going to get angry at you for doing it wrong Parker. You can't do it wrong. There isn't really a normal when it comes to dating. Normal is whatever we decide it it is. Some people like to spend all their time together or touch each other all the time and some people only like to be touched sometimes or to spend a lot more time by themselves. We just have to figure out what works best for us. I might get angry at you though sometimes Parker, but I won't stay angry at you and it's okay for you to get mad at me if I mess up too. You just have to tell me so that I can try to fix it. It's only bad if we get angry and don't try to fix it." I tell her.

We're just across from the Aquarium, but Parker hasn't noticed it yet so I tug on her hand getting her to stop and look at me. "You're not going to figure it all out right this minute, Mama. I don't even know it all. We just have to learn it together and I'm okay with that if you are." Parker nods at me. "Great!" I smile at her "Let's go see some fish."

**A/N:** I have to figure out what happens at the aquarium, but I think we're going back to Parker's POV and after that I'm pretty sure we're going on their world travels with them, at least some of them. I had a very long drive yesterday by myself during which I had a bunch of ideas for P/H dating, but traveling around the world does require some research & I just started a new job so I'm not sure how soon the next few parts will go up. Also, I didn't really plan to plan to write another longer story while working on What life is about & I have an idea for a little something that goes after the series finale.


	4. Chapter 4:Aquarium

Parker's POV

I let go of Hardison's hand as we cross the street to the aquarium and skip ahead to look at the seals. You can get right up to the glass where the seals are. It would be easy to take one, but then what would I do with it, I wonder. Deciding against it, I feel Hardison tap me on the shoulder as he has finally managed to catch up to me.

"Come on, let's go buy our tickets" he says to me.

As we walk into the building together, he holds the door for me again. I don't really get why he's doing it. I can get the door for myself. I always have before, but I vaguely remember Sophie telling me something about expecting a good man to do certain things for you, to make your life easier and I'm pretty sure this was one of those things. I think she also mentioned carrying my bags, but have no idea what else she said. I guess I'll have to ask her to remind me what they were again.

While Hardison buys the tickets, I look at things in the entryway and refrain from pick pocketing anyone. I mean really, it's just to easy. Not much fun in it when everyone is distracted by other things. You don't even have to provide the distraction. Luckily, Hardison gets the tickets and we enter the aquarium so I don't think about stealing from the tourists anymore.

As soon as we walk in, there is a giant sea turtle. I had never seen one of those before and I start to leave Hardison behind, but think maybe we're supposed to stay together since this is a date. It's hard to think about all these things. I wish there were just some rules to follow. I look back at Hardison, waiting for him, but he just smiles and winks at me, "Go ahead, just don't disappear on me. I don't want to lose you."

I take off, looking in the various tanks and weaving through all the people with no real effort. The sea turtles were big and cool looking, but when I get to the next room I finds seals and sea lions playing together in a large tank. They look like they are having such fun. It would be really useful if I could glide through things the way they do, but I wouldn't want to be stuck in the water forever. I look back to see where Hardison is and catch him snapping a picture of me. I don't know how I feel about that. I don't think I've had many pictures taken outside of con needs.

I wait for him to come up beside me and point out how much fun the animals are having. "I wish we could just have fun like that all the time." I tell him. "Hurry up, we are almost to the shark tanks." I tug on his arm lightly before heading off to the next area. It's not so hard making sure not to lose Hardison. He keeps up if I just slow down a little. He just can't quite get through all the people the way that I do.

We walk through an exhibit of tropical fish. I love them. They are so bright and colorful. I know some people have fish like these. I wonder if we could get some fish and ask Hardison about it when he walks up beside me.

"Maybe, I mean they don't require a lot of work compared to some other pets, but they can be pretty hard to move" he responds. " I'll have to think about how to work it out if you really want some."

I smile and nod at him before taking off to se the penguins. They are super cute. I didn't know that there were so many kinds. Big ones and small ones. Blue ones and black ones. Some lady is talking and feeding them a bucket of fish. I hop up where I can watch and listen to her explain about them. I look for Hardison thinking he would like her explanation of things and catch him taking another picture of me. I wonder how many of those he has taken and why he is taking so many.

Finally, we get to the touch tanks and see a small shark and some large rays. I flit around from pool to pool, looking at them and touching them when they swim by. They are smooth and wet. Not really how I thought they would feel. I'm having the most fun here. I skirt into the crowd when I'm done and come up behind Hardison. I lean over his should and whisper, "this is fun. I'm glad you brought me here. Do you want to take a picture together?" I ask him. I'm pretty sure that this is something people do together. I've seen it in movies I've watched with Sophie.

He nods yes and I lead him through the exhibits looking for a good spot for a picture. When we get to the amazon exhibit, I stop in front of some colorful eels and tell him we can take one here. It will be a good backdrop. I turn around standing next to Hardison while he holds up his phone for the picture. I'm surprised when I feel his arm settle on my shoulder pulling me in close against his side. "Smile" he tells me. And I feel myself matching his grin. This has been a good day.

I walk through the last few exhibits staying closer to Hardison. I wonder if every date is this much fun and if Hardison will go jumping with me, but figure it's kind of like when I started having friend dates with Peggy. You can't just jump into asking someone to steal something or jump off a building with you. You have to work your way up to that with the normal things first. Whatever, that is.

When we walk outside the building, I find I don't really want to leave Hardison. I don't have anywhere I have to be at.

"Do you need to go by your place before dinner with the team?" He asks.

"No, I don't have anything I need to do" I answer.

"Great. I dropped my laptop at the office this morning. We can just head there together if you want" Hardison says.

"Ok" I start walking in that direction with Hardison following. After a second, I reach back and take his hand lulling is together. It's easier to stay with him when I'm holding onto him. Plus, it's nice holding his hand. It's warm and soft. It feels good wrapped around my smaller hand.

We walk in silence for a while, getting close to the offices before I ask, "will you send me a copy of the picture of the 2 of us?"

"Yeah, no problem"

I can feel him fidgeting with his phone with his other hand. I don't know how he's able to do so much electronically while I'm using one of his hands, but I guess it's probably like what I do. I could usually do it in my sleep, the simple things like lifting items from people. As we enter the building, I think that I would do this again with him. I fell sad that the day is over. I would spend more time alone with Hardison if I could, but I don't want everyone to wonder where we are. It's bad enough that everyone except Nate probably knows what we did this afternoon. I don't really feel ready to talk about this with everyone else.

"I wish the day was longer" I say softly.

"Don't worry, Mama, we'll do something again soon" Hardison answers squeezing my fingers.

"It's just...I don't really want to talk about this with everyone else yet. If we had more time before we saw them, maybe I would feel more ready." I'm worried people are going to ask me questions I don't know the answers to yet, I think to myself.

"No one is going to bother you about what we did today. Only Sophie knows and she won't ask you in front of Nate and Eliot so just don't end up alone with her and you'll be safe. We don't have to tell other people what we are doing until you want to Parker, but they will all be happy for us. They just want us to be happy" Hardison explains. "Just relax. We're just watching movies together like we do all the time. Just sit next to me and I'll keep you out of trouble."

"Ok, I can do that" I reply. "Don't be alone with Sophie and sit next to you like normal. Got it." I reach to open the door, but feel his hand on my shoulder. I turn back to him.

"Parker," Hardison says looking into my eyes.

I'm standing pretty close to him now because he stepped forward. Closer than even I normally get to a person. I look at him and then I look down at his lips. I'm pretty sure he wants to kiss me. I lick my lips vaguely recall another lesson I've been given. " 's ok" I say following his eyes as he leans down. I feel his lips, feather light on mine. Nothing like our pretend make out kisses. Not sloppy and wet, but purposeful like he knows what he wants this time. I lift my head up towards him moving in closer and sliding my arms around his neck as he deepens our kiss. I'm surprised by how good this feels. I have little jittery butterflies in my stomach and tingles on my sides where his hands are holding my. He kisses me for a second more before pulling his head back.

"That's how you end a good date Parker." Hardison says. "Not just walking away. Of course, you can do it other times to." He winks at me before letting me go and walking inside leaving me standing in the hallway. After a second, I realize that he also told me not to use the front door it I didn't want questions from Nate or Eliot and I turn around to enter the room another way. He's right I never come through the front door unless the team comes back together. It would be weird to do it now and I need a second alone to think about what just happened. I never felt like that during a kiss before. I think that's the way it's really supposed to be and I can't wait to do it again


	5. Chapter 5: Vacation

I'm sitting against a wall in our 'batcave' cleaning my equipment and packing it up after we finished with Duebenich and Latimer, trying to figure out where I should go first since I know the team will have to split up for a while. I have a few solo jobs that I've been considering when I had some free time and some skills I needed to brush up on for things that I just didn't have to do very often but liked to keep in practice for. You never knew when you might need to do something unexpected and Archie had taught me to try to always be prepared for things.

I smiled slightly at the thought of Archie. It was good to see him again. I hadn't seen him since the Steranko incident, but we had been keeping I. Contact much more frequently since then. I was surprised, but pleased when he called me his daughter earlier and I was glad that he liked Hardison. It was weird that I cared about his opinion on our relationship, but it was also weird for him to offer an opinion on something non work related as well. Generally, Archie on offered his thoughts on what I could do better for a job not how I should live the rest of my life. That's something a real Dad would be worried about and I found that I really was happy that he approved of Hardison, though I'm not sure what I would have done if he didn't like him.

I also find that I'm disappointed that this all happened before we had the opportunity to go on another date. The last few weeks had been busy with work and we had watched a few late night movies/tv shows together, but hadn't had the opportunity for anything else. Now we were going to be apart for months though I was pretty sure it would be ok for me to drop in on him after a few weeks if I was careful about it. I was worried that I might backtrack during our time apart. It is too easy for thoughts of the past to make old fears and habits get in the way when I have too much time to think about things.

My thoughts on the subject get cut off when I notice Hardison walking over to me. I figure he is coming to say goodbye while he has time without everyone else around and I look up smiling at him. I'm surprised when he sits down against the wall with me, so close that his shoulder is brushing one and his knee is knocking up against mine. He's not really the kind of person who sits on the ground like I do. I continue cleaning the harness I'm holding onto, checking it over and making sure everything is fine before it gets stowed away.

"I'm glad Nate didn't actually kill anyone" I tell Hardison.

"Yeah, it was questionable for a little while there" he responds. "Are you almost done with you equipment? I'm done packing up my stuff if you need any help."

"This is my last thing. I have everything ready for either storage or to take with me, but thanks" I answer.

"Where should we go on vacation?" Hardison queries. "We can't all 5 stay together because that's too easy to track, but it shouldn't be a problem for us to travel together. I just need to know where so I can set it up. I figured we could stay together, at least until you're tired of me. People who are dating sometimes go on vacation together."

I hear his question and miss part of what comes after that because I'm so surprised, but I'm glad he didn't ask if I wanted to go with him. I probably would have said no, better to just assumes I'm going to come and find out where. Hardison really is a smart guy. Tokyo springs to mind immediately as I recall a conversation from a long time ago where he tried to get me to go on vacation to Tokyo with him and I couldn't understand why at the time, but I have learned since then that sometimes you really do just do things together because they are fun.

"Tokyo is a fun place, I hear," I say smirking slightly when I look at Hardison.

He grins at me and laughs. "Tokyo it is. I'll just need a few minutes to book our tickets and then I think we are all ready to clear out of here. This is going to be so much fun seeing Tokoy together with you."

Hardison gives my shoulder a quick squeeze and then walks away from me. I guess those jobs will have to wait and I'll have to get my practice in around whatever it is we are going to be doing. I'm glad that I'm not going to be away from him for months though. I would have missed him I think


	6. Chapter 6: Tokyo

Parker's gone out to do whatever it is that she does without me. I'm not really sure. I know most of the time she's just staying in practice, but I think that sometimes she just goes somewhere quiet to try to figure things out. Usually she's gone for an hour or two which means I have time for at least 1 raid, which I'm happy about because I haven't been able to play since the latest update happened. I know I'll at least hear from her within 2 hours because that's the deal we've worked out. I don't want to keep tabs on Parker, but I also don't want to be worried that something happened to her so she carries a tracker with her that I've promised not to activate unless she misses a check-in.

That was a long discussion, convincing her that I wasn't being overprotective, that it was good for me to worry about her. I wanted her to feel free to do whatever she normally would do while travelling, so she would be comfortable and want to stay with me while the team was apart. That means that I know she is off doing random dangerous things without telling me, and that it wouldn't even occur to her to tell me what she was planning to do both because she is so private and because she thinks I would worry about it or try to stop her. So, we finally settled on 2 hours for a check-in or just coming back so that if something did happen to her at least its not hours before we start looking for her.

I put my headphones on and click into the game still thinking about Parker. We've had a good time together the last few weeks. Once we arrived at the hotel and checked in, Parker did her security check thing while I unpacked. She found a few escape routes for us, but some are last resorts she told me because she doesn't think I can fit through all of the ducts here. I told her to stop acting crazy of course because there is no way I'm getting in the air duct here and there won't be any reason for us to need those routes since we're not working. Parker just rolled her eyes at me and grabbed the remote from me to pick out the movie we were going to watch. We had talked about staying in on the plane and just trying to get adjusted to the new time zone so we could start doing fun things in the morning. Neither of us lasted very long before we went to our beds.

Since then, we settled into kind of a rhythm. Most days we figure out what to do together, but once a week we each pick out something that we want to do with the other person. I called those our 'date' days. We've done a lot of cool stuff here in Tokyo and eaten a lot of really delicious food, mostly recommended by Eliot. Parker is really getting into the whole touristy thing, though I will admit that the things she looks at and finds interesting are not the things most people are looking at. I don't care as long as she's having fun and relaxing. She seems pretty happy with what we've been doing.

Last week, she even got me to jump off a building with her when it was her turn to decide what to do. She thought I might enjoy it more if it wasn't a con and we weren't in a hurry. She even took the time to explain all her equipment, what everything was for, and how she decided what to use where. It was interesting and she was actually very good at explaining everything, but it didn't make the jump any less terrifying to me. It was slightly better being right side up and knowing how to control the jump a little more, but I don't think any amount of jumping will make it an exciting thing for me. Hopefully, we can do something else this week. That was the first time she asked me to go with her and I did get a kiss at the bottom which made it totally worth it, but it's not something I want to be doing every week.

I'm startled out of my thoughts when I hear the window slam shut which is Parker's way of announcing she's back. She's being trying not to startle me quite so often even though it amuses her. I'm nearly done with what I was doing in game so it's perfect timing if she wants to watch tv together like we normally do. I hear her ghost into the room with and I'm not sure if I'm getting better at noticing her or if she's better at making some slight noise to let know she's there. I like to think I'm getting better plus she did let me know she was in the hotel suite which goes a long way toward heightening my awareness. I'm always so happy to see her. I still can't believe that she agreed to travel with me. Before I can turn to her, I hear her say,

"I'm tired. I'm going to go to bed now."

I'm surprised because we normally stay up another hour or 2, but it's no big deal, just means I can play a little more. "Ok," I say. "I'll see you for breakfast in the morning." I feel her beside me all of the sudden, turning my chair around and pushing my headphones off. She steps between my legs and looks at me. I can see the nervous, hesitant expression on her face.

"No, I want you to come to bed too. With me." Parker says hesitantly. "I'm tired and I think I sleep better with you there."

Parker and I have never slept together on purpose before. The first week we were here, we fell asleep together on the couch and were both sore the next morning so we started watching late night tv together laying on my bed so we wouldn't have a repeat of that happen, plus it was just more comfortable than the hotel couch.. We slept there together one night last week and I will admit that it was definitely comfortable, but I didn't know she enjoyed it as much as I did. I was pretty surprised when I woke up in the morning to find us spooned together and Parker still in the bed, but she was pretty quick to escape to her own room when she woke up.. She generally doesn't sleep much, more than Eliot, but not like most people. I was pretty sure she had nightmares that woke her, but she had never had them around me. I did hear her get up in the middle of the night sometimes.

I'm looking at Parker when she asks me this. It's the first time she's ever asked me to do anything for her. I'm sure she's spent a lot of time trying to figure out how to do this which makes me a little sad because obviously I am happy to sleep with her. I realize I haven't actually said anything to her and she is starting to look like she might take off so I reach around her, holding her in place and click out of my game. "Of course I'll come to bed with you. Why don't you get changed and into my bed while I get ready for bed?" I say to her.

"Ok," she turns and heads into her room.

I do my nightly security checks on all of us and check for any unusual chatter. Then, I stand and go into my bedroom grab some clothes and step into the bathroom. I picked my room even though she asked me to come to bed with her because we usually hangout in here and I wanted her to have a place to go still if she changes her mind. When I get changed and step into the room, I see that she is curled up into a cute little ball on the bed already snuggled up with her pillow.

I turn off the lights and slide into the other side of the bed. I roll onto my side and very slowly slide my arm around her waist tugging her back against me. I feel her relax and uncurl, stretching out against me. "Thanks" I hear her say. "I just haven't been able to sleep the last couple of nights."

I slide my arm all the way around her, my hand just brushing the warm flat of her stomach where her shirt had ridden up a little. I move my head ups little so my chin rests on her shoulder. "I'm certainly not going to object to having you in my bed," I whisper smiling into her ear. "I'm always happy to have you around." I kiss her bare shoulder. "Go to sleep, we can talk in the morning."

I wake up earlier than normal since we went to bed early, but also because Parker is shifting restlessly in my arms. I can't tell if she's awake, but trying to stay in the bed with me or having a dream. I shift over some, propping my head up to try and see her face, but as soon as I move over, she rolls over to face me which answers the questions of whether she was awake or not. "Morning" I say, "how did you sleep?"

"Good" Parker says cheerily "I didn't think you were ever going to wake up. I'm bored."

"Mama, you could have just woken me up. I wouldn't have minded." I tell her. "Plus, you could have just gotten out of the bed."

"Oh, I thought I should be here when you woke up since you let me sleep here" she says, looking a little puzzled.

"I'm glad you're still here" I say giving her a quick kiss "but if you're going to sleep here, you should do whatever you normally would."

"So, I can sleep here again?" Parker asks looking pleased.

"You can sleep here every night if that's what you want to do. I certainly won't object. It's a normal thing to do, to sleep together when you're a couple, but you don't have to."

"No, I slept good. I can sleep here as long as I don't have to be here when you wake up. You sleep too much." Parker states like sleeping 6-8hrs a night is completely wrong.

"I sleep the same amount as most people, but yeah, if you're going to sleep here on a regular basis you should do whatever it is you would normally do. You don't have to stay in the bed as long as me - though you should feel free to come back and wake me up when its a normal time for breakfast or whatever."

"Ok," Parker says pushing me onto my back and kissing me as she rolls on top of me. She stretches out the full length of her body and then proceeds to roll out of the bed. "Get up, I'm hungry and it's my day to do whatever I want plus, we're leaving tomorrow and I don't want to miss anything." she calls over her shoulder as she exits the room.

I lay in the bed, sort of dazed for a second before I snap out it. Guess I'll be taking a cold shower this morning. Maybe it wasn't such a great idea to tell Parker she could sleep here all the time.


	7. Chapter 7:Sophie

A/N:I'm not sure I'm happy with how this turned out. I wanted parker to go see Sophie. I think it is something she would do if they were in the same city, but I'm undecided whether she would really need a push to have sex with Hardison. She's not stupid, but I sort of can't decide in my head if they were having sex when season 5 starts. I find it hard to believe that 2 adults travel the world together for a few months and don't have sex, but they were like the slowest burning couple on TV. Thoughts?.

I walked up to the cafe where I am meeting Sophie and saw her standing in front of it waiting for me. I called out to her as I got close and she turned around wrapping her arms around me in a big hug. I felt myself grinning as I hugged her back. Sophie had never just hugged me without warning or letting me initiate it. She really was my family, not afraid to touch me or show how she felt because she knew I could finally handle it. That I wouldn't tense up or run away just because I wasn't ready for it.

"I'm so glad to see you, Sophie" I say to her. "I've missed you and Nate and Eliot.

Sophie loops her arm through mine and leads me over to a table. We sit down and she orders us some tea and dessert. "What have you been doing Sophie?"

"Oh, you know a little of this and a little of that. Mostly shopping, but I've done a few small things with Tara. It's mostly been good" Sophie says.

"Where's Nate?" I ask, puzzled. I thought she would spend at least some of her time with him. I should see Tara. I've missed her too. I forget that you can just visit people with no reason, that people like that.

"Off on his boat somewhere, working out some stuff." Sophie replies. "I'm supposed to pick him up in a few more weeks. I imagine we're getting back together sometime after that."

"Good, I've been having fun with Hardison, but I miss working." I tell her.

"You've been with him this whole time? I didn't think you would spend all your time off with him." Sophie sounds surprised. "How's that going? Anything you want to share?"

I think about it for a few minutes. I have been having a great time with Hardison. Taking off on my own hasn't even crossed my mind. Surprisingly, we're working out. I've had fun with him in Tokyo and Turkey. Paris is our last stop before we head to set up new offices, though Hardison told me I didn't have to do that if I wanted to travel some more, but I had already decided to go back with him. I liked being with him. It was comfortable and I thought I was getting better at this girlfriend thing. Hardison had told me that if we were dating and not seeing other people then I was his girlfriend. I was definitely not dating someone else.

"I was right different is better. This is the most fun I've ever had traveling. I have someone to talk to over dinner and watch movies with. Hardison makes me do things I wouldn't do on my own like actually visit the museums instead of just stealing from them. He's also been teaching me more technical stuff. He says I'm good at some of it. Sometimes, I convince him to jump with me and that's fun too even though I know he only does it because I want him to do it. I still do my stuff. I just have him around to do other stuff with." I answer.

"That's good Parker. I'm happy for you." Sophie smiles at me. "How is Hardison? You could have brought him along."

"I told him it was a girl thing" I respond grinning because I learned that from Sophie. "I just wanted to see you without him. He seems good. I can tell he likes having me around, likes what we're doing, but sometimes I think he is….frustrated. I think that's the right word."

"Why do you think that? Hardison's always been patient with you. Actually, I've always thought it was rather impressive how patient he's been waiting for you."

"It's hard to sleep with me, but not have sex." I say bluntly "And he's been sleeping with me every night for almost 6 weeks."

"That's even more patient that I thought he was. Is there some reason?"

"I...it was an accident at first. We fell asleep during a movie and it was the best sleep I ever remembered so I asked him to sleep with me a few days later when I was tired and he told me I could sleep with him all the time if I wanted to. So I have been. I didn't realize it was a problem at first, but now I don't know what to do. I don't want to mess anything up. what we have now is good and it's working for us." It's true, I didn't know what to do. I wanted to sleep with him because it felt good, but I didn't know if I was ready to have sex with him and I didn't know how to know if I was ready and he wouldn't push it. If I freaked out about it, it might mess us up.

"Parker, you're a grown woman. You're not being fair to Hardison. Whatever happens, the two of you together will work it out. You need to talk to him or at least take some action."

It's not the first time Sophie has said those words to me. I agree with it. I already knew it. I just sometimes need a push and I can always count on my family to give it to invites me to shopping with her, but I just laugh and tell her I'll see her soon.


	8. Chapter 8: Paris

I woke up cold and reached out to the other side of the bed, knowing that Parker wouldn't be there. She has a tendency to wrap up in the blankets pulling them off me, but I'm usually warm enough as long as she actually stays in the bed so I assume she's gone off somewhere. For a second I think about going to see if she is in the other room, but I know she won't be. I don't hear the clink of a bowl that always sounds when she gets a midnight snack and she was distracted when she came back from visiting Sophie earlier so I'm not surprised that she's off doing whatever it is she does when she needs to think or escape.

I glance at the clock and see that it's early but nearing dawn so I expect she'll sneak back into bed soon like she never left. I don't know if it's that she doesn't want me to worry about what she's up to in the middle of the night or if it's just that she wants to take another nap that gets her back into the bed most nights, I've never asked. I always knew she didn't sleep much so I don't want her to feel like she needs to stay in bed all night and I don't know how to ask her about her late night trips without possibly making her feel like she should stop them. I'm happy she shares the bed with me and is getting as much sleep as she is and I don't want to jeopardize it. Plus, she just looks so much more rested than I can remember her being before.

As I'm laying in bed, thinking about these things, I feel a breeze and smile knowing that she's just come in through the window. Almost immediately I hear a zipper and her hoodie dropping to the floor. I open my eyes, looking for her in the dim light. I'm confused for a second when I see her start to lift off her shirt. Parker usually changes for bed in the bathroom out of courtesy, not modesty and I realize that she must think I'm still asleep.

"P..Parker wait, I'm awake." I manage to get out before she can give me an unexpected show. I see her hands freeze and then she looks at me as I sit up in the bed.

"Why are you awake? You're usually asleep for several more hours." Parker states letting go of her shirt.

"Someone took all the blankets again and then left the bed. Girl I was freezing" I answer.

Parker looks at me and I mean really looks at me with that singular focus she usually reserves for money and safes as she walks towards the bed. She stands at the foot of the bed looking at me and i wait for her to say something though I'm starting to get freaked out by her intense stare.

"Are you going to go back to sleep?" She queries breaking the silence suddenly, "because if you're not then I'm not either.

"Is there something you want to talk about? Something from seeing Sophie?" I brush off her question, not quite ready to give up on the possibility of a little more sleep yet.

"No, it was good to see her. And Eliot sent me a text last week telling me that we should stay out of trouble because he would be out of contact for a couple days. The only reason I haven't talked to or seen Nate is because he's out on his boat. Even Archie has been contacting me once a month since that last job. He...he called me his daughter to his real daughter when I went to get him. We really aren't just a team anymore" Parker pauses looking bewildered.

"Parker, they're your family. Maybe we're a different kind of family, but we're still family. Even when we're not working together, you can still count on everyone to be there for you." I tell climbs on the bed finally, kneeling next to me.

"I know. It's different, but I think I like it. I never had anyone before. Even this traveling with you is different than I thought it would be. It was fun, having someone to do things with me. I always liked being alone, doing whatever I wanted to do. I wasn't sure that this would be okay." Parker says.

"But you're still okay with it, right? I mean I thought we were having a good time. I liked seeing the world with you Parker." I tell her, not sure where this conversation is going. This is probably the most Parker has ever said to anyone about how she feels about something. I guess I should have known that it would take Parker much longer than everyone else to accept that we were a family. Even Nate accepts it now, if he didn't, I really think he would have shot them on that Dam. I'm happy for Parker that Archie finally acknowledged her to his other family. She deserved that.

"Yeah, I...doing things with you was fun Hardison, but we have to go back soon and it won't be like this anymore, but it won't be like before either" she says sounding sad.

"Parker, you know that we'll still be us when we go back right? We'll still be dating and doing things together even when everyone else is around. We're not just done because the team gets back together again and has to work" I say finally figuring out what's bothering her. She's worried about what happens when we're back with everyone else. I get that. What we've been doing isn't like our real life even though our "real" life isn't like anyone else's normal life, it's still normal for us and she doesn't really know what happens when we go back to it.

"I know. It just won't be like this. You'll have your place and I'll have mine - wherever we're going. And we'll sleep alone again and everyone else will be around and we won't do stuff together like we have been because we'll be busy with cons and everyone else." Parker says looking away from me for the first time - which is impressive to me, that she's been able to have this entire conversation while looking at me and without running away in the middle of it. She really is so much better at talking about things than she was 4 years ago.

"It will just be like any other couple Parker. We'll have to work at making time for each other and for going out on dates and doing things together" I reach out touching her face and tugging her back to look at me. "You don't have to get your own place you know. We could get a new place together. Nate told me to set us up in Portland so we could find a place together when we go there after this stop. Just because we're going back to the team doesn't mean things have to be the same as they were before. You just have to tell me what you want and I'll make it happen. You should know that by now, Mama. Whatever you want, I'm up for it."

"We could live together? You would want that?"

"Of course, Parker. I like having you around. Plus who else is going to have long conversations with me in the middle of the night" I say grinning at her. "I'm sure we can find a place where you can have your own space, but still be with me. I'm surprised that Parker isn't ready to go back to being on her own, but I'm happy that she would rather be with me. I wasn't sure there would ever be a time when she would rather be with me than on her own or at least that she would be able to acknowledge that ever.

"And we could still sleep together at night? Even if I have my own room?"

"Parker, I'm not kicking you out of my bed. I don't think any man in their right mind would kick you out of their bed, but you know, we can pick out a bed together and then it would be our bed." I tell her even though I'm pretty certain that taking Parker bed shopping might be an experience I could do without.

All of the sudden, Parker is straddling me and grinning that gorgeous smile of hers with her arms around my neck. My arms go to her waist. I'll never get tired of this, of holding Parker and making her happy and I hear her saying, "Sophie told me we should talk or I should take some action. That I shouldn't expect you to keep sleeping with me without sex." And I don't know what to say to that. I just figured that I would rather have her in my bed however I could and anything else would work itself out eventually. I want Parker to be comfortable with everything we're doing. "Parker, it's fine. I'm fine. I don't want to push you to do anything you're not ready for. We can wait as long as you need."

"Alec, you just invited me to move in with you. I'm not, not ready. I just needed to know…." Parker says trailing off.

"that we're family too. I got you girl. No matter what" And then I can't talk anymore because Parker's kissing me like she's never kissed me before and I don't think about talking anymore for a long time after that.


End file.
